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Shanique Scores First In The Shanique Myrie Versus Government Of Barbados Matter

Shanique Myrie

BU has resisted writing – up to now – about the Shanique Myrie matter. Many disagreed with Shanique Myrie’s legal advisors who made the decision to access the Caribbean Court Justice (CCJ) to rule on her (Myrie) right to move freely under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. After yesterday’s ruling by the CCJ to give special leave to Myrie to argue her case before the court, she must feel vindicated. This is against the background that many of our local legal beavers had opined that the CCJ has no jurisdiction in the matter until the case came to them on appeal from the Barbados courts. Barbados because we are a member of Caricom is bound by the interpretation of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in all matters as it relates to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.

If we suck all of the emotion out of the matter, the Shanique Myrie versus the Government of Barbados case will be followed with great interest across the region. To what extent will this case threaten the discretion which traditionally has been exercised by officers at ports of entry in Caricom countries? If Myrie continues her winning ways, it potentially could provoke some countries who are signatories, to question obligations under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramus as it relates to free movement of people.

To rub salt into the wound for some Myrie was awarded cost. To be fair it should be noted that at this stage the CCJ has given special leave to hear this matter i.e. the CCJ believes there is a case to be made. Myrie’s legal team now has to argue the case.

The following is reproduced from the Barbados Advocate and gives a good summary of the special sitting of the CCJ on the matter.

Jamaican national Shanique Myrie has been granted special leave to commence proceedings against the Barbados Government by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Sir Charles Dennis Byron, made this announcement at yesterday’s special sitting of the CCJ in Barbados to a packed Supreme Court 1 at the Supreme Court Building, Bridgetown, St. Michael, nearly three hours after the start of proceedings at 10 a.m.

After deliberating with The Hon. Mr. Justice Winston Anderson, The Hon. Mr. Justice Rolston Nelson, The Hon. Mr. Justice Jacob Wit and The Hon. Mme Justice Desiree Bernard, Sir Charles in his response to the arguments made by Michelle Brown, attorney-at-law for the applicant and lead counsel of Barbados’ legal team, attorney-at-law Roger Forde, QC said that the Justices’ obligation was to determine if the case was arguable and the “obligation to determine this issue was made simpler by the fact that the respondent has conceded that this is at least an arguable issue…”

Sir Charles granted Myrie’s legal team 14 days to file the application and granted the applicant the cost of filing the application. He noted that had the concessions been made before the proceedings had commenced, the cost of having the hearing would have been reduced.

It is expected that July may be the earliest that this case is called before the CCJ.

Basing her arguments on the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and the CARICOM conference decision of 2007, Brown argued for 90 minutes that Myrie was denied right of entry and that denial was “unjustifiable, arbitrary and thus led to discrimination.”

Brown recounted Myrie’s allegation that on March 14, 2011, her client, then 22 years old, was originally allowed entry for a month when her passport was stamped but then two hours later found herself upstairs in a bathroom where she was allegedly finger raped by a female Immigration officer, abused with foul language, threatened and then denied entry into Barbados.

She said that Myrie, who intended to visit a friend for two weeks, still is unsure to this day what she did, what was the aim of denial of entry and the two alleged cavity searches. Brown further stated that bringing the case to the CCJ was the direct and best route in terms of time and cost.

Arguable case

Forde made his submission in about 20 minutes. Stating that he was not going to waste the Court’s time, he conceded that there was an “arguable case.” He explained to the media following the announcement, “I did not concede that she would succeed on the merits, but she has an arguable case. In that arguable case, she would state all of her facts, we would state ours and there is where it goes.” “Arguable does not mean you are right. When two people are in court, they both have arguable cases – but only one person wins,” Forde continued.

“The Court gave her permission to file that claim. The Court made no determination on it. Low threshold means that you have something that can be argued. It does not mean you would succeed in essence,” he said.

When asked her reaction to the outcome, Brown told the media: “We are very happy with the ruling. We met all the obligations we needed to make to argue the case that will be presented in Trinidad or wherever the CCJ meets. We presented the facts to keep the Court foregrounded and to keep the facts alive.” She said that Myrie feels “very happy now but is still anxious about what is going to happen in the future.”

A reserved Myrie arrived at the Supreme Court about 9:40 a.m. with her lawyers Brown and Marc Ramsay. O’Neil Francis appeared for the Attorney General’s Office in Jamaica. Myrie, dressed in a black pants suit, listened intently in the front row of the public gallery to the entire proceedings. Her lawyers embraced each other after it was announced that the special leave was granted.

Barbados’s legal team was comprised of Patterson Cheltenham, QC; Dr. David Berry, Senior Lecturer International Law and Caribbean Integration Law and Deputy Dean (Academic) at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus and Donna Brathwaite of the Attorney General’s Office.

Sir Charles commended the Court for the high quality of professionalism exhibited.

The Court comprised of members of the legal fraternity, Government officials and others who were eager to witness the CCJ in operation in a space other than Trinidad and Tobago and to hear proceedings on this particular issue that has sparked controversy and debate on relations between Barbados and Jamaica.

No Comments on “Shanique Scores First In The Shanique Myrie Versus Government Of Barbados Matter”

That is not what Forde said, it was the right under the Treaty of Chaguaramas for the substantive case to be heard by the CCJ instead of the Barbados courts. In other words he accepted the fact early and did not waste the Court’s time which allowed it to rule on the spot. One may reasonably expect that the Barbados team will be more ‘powerful’ when the actual case is heard.

i hope this case dies soon,it has caused enough pain and badmouthing across borders,two countries that had a history of cooperation,has had its legacies destroyed.every society has its good side and bad side,by population size alone jamaica will have it harder to manage the people who decide to do bad…
and on that note countries in caricom should be able to screen the people they want to enter and so i say ,all countries must implement a visa system…to lessen the burden of immigration..

Shanique Myrie is a-WOMAN
Ignorant–Hard–Inflexible–knows nothing about anything—and hateful and spiteful.WOMEN are going to destroy Barbados and the world if you allow them.
Women must be controlled.Left out of hand and uncontrolled , they will cause tremendous damage.
Samson was the strongest man in the world
Who brought him down ?Adam was the happiest man in the world.Who destroyed him ??Look what a woman trying to do with our former cricket captain.
Must I say more ?
Dont control these women !
Give them everything and dont control them !
See what is going to happen !
Cuss me –I dont care !
but Women are doing a lot of damage in this society
and that is true true true.
David Ellis –Where yuh ?
Dennis Johnson ??
Admiral Nelson??
Henry Forde ??–who passed the law and was the first to suffer by it–Remember ?
These are all men who know and understand things about women and who are not afraid to say it like it is.

@ Porter. Hope that any time you find yourself not up to scratch, and may have to visit the QEH, a Polyclinic or even the Psychiatric Hospital or finally the Geriatric Hospital that you insist on service from a male medical personell only. it is your right bro.

Would someone PLEASE spend some time refuting Porter’s points rather than raising silly illogical asides….? (well except for the being formerly known as Hasall who only ever does that…)

The fact that something is IMPORTANT, NECESSARY, BEAUTIFUL, VITAL and DESIRED has no relation whatsoever to any need to control it….indeed, quite the contrary is mostly the case….

If the men here do not have the balls to call it as it is, then the thing to do is to just shut up… let ac and Islandgal deal with the matter in their usual logical and systematic way…. :)

As to Bushie’s position…. A good woman is VITAL for any man who really seeks to achieve his full potential – (unless of course that man has special BBE connections which supersedes such a requirement…)

Women were created to complement men and together they can be a complete unit….. BUT there are specific strengths, weaknesses, talents, and traits in the two sexes (not dealing with the ‘in-betweens now’) and there are designed for DIFFERENT ROLES.

A woman who is a REAL woman, with a man who is a REAL man is the most beautiful union imaginable….
…but it is better to live in hole in a desert than to dwell in a house with a woman who wants to be a man…
LOL, Bushie suspects that it is also better for a real woman to live in gully- than in a house with a man who thinks that he is a woman….

For those of you all who feel that what is on those videos doesn’t exist here YOU are FOOLING yourselves. Keep on burying your heads in the sand. Stupse. Remember when you pointing your finger there is always one pointing back at you.

Trust 246 to support the JAs. ‘Islan’, why don’t u either actually EMIGRATE to JA, if tey’d have u, which I doubt very much they would unless u happen to be loaded with money, which they’d then seek immediately to try to dispossess u of, or EMIGRATE to a JA blog. If ‘such things exist in Bim’, where do u think they come from? We don’t’ want anybody institutionalising filth in our country, so do us all a favour please and DO emigrate to JA, where you’ll feel even more at home!

thats epidemic in the bajan mentality quick to condemn their own in favour of others Look at the difference when Dudus Coke was accused of the drug dealing yuh noticed how the jamaicans almost killed off one another trying to protect he and also with BAnton they still defending he. but here in Bim a different story

No David that is not what i am saying ! but you can interpert it anywau you see fit. There are more occurences in which Bajans have not defended there own. I meaning when it comes to loyality theres is very low on the tantaum pole and this not only speaks to this case but also among relatives and freinds LOYALTY among bajans NO!

@ David
Me thinks you should pull those above video clips posted by newcomers (???)…Have you ever heard of a Trojan horse…? This is not our style and should not be allowed to destroy on reputation BU…of being above petty-nationalism… before this accelerates to a whirl wind….be warned !

Your response is disappointing because what you wrote is there for all to read. If you meant it to mean some thing different then you should gladly explain and not suffer us with your response to interpret as you one sees fit. Others can be the judge if BU is wrong or harsh.

ALL I CAN SAY I WORKED AT the airport in kingston up to late last year and the type of jamaicans travelling to the islands are not the ones i see going to north america or europe ,its really now must be monitored properly by the islands because the poor underpriviliged jamaicans are traveling in droves to islands and central america why ? no visa required ..
and if you all are not careful when these people integrate with poor disenfranchised bajans and other nationalities and teach them how to hustle then…the end wont be pretty ..
fact is jamaica is now coming to grips with the criminals ,the other fact is the islands will not know what has it them…so its just a matter of time ,crime will be reduced in jamaica and dramatically increased in the islands..

LOL! ac, r t he Bajans suh bad!! Well, not all of them. I clearly remember some of us sticking-up very strongly for Bim in a discussion we had of this same subject, some months ago. I think 246 may be a JA herself, or half of one, or has a JA man. U know as another commentator was saying about WOMEN, once they’ve got somebody to **** them, all reason flies out the window!!

looke here brimbo now myrie lawyers trying to make a big foot move on the guvment down playing the finger rape whilehaving myrie stick she middle finger in the face of the guvment with she lawyers talking about free movement fuh she and she contaminated friends.

ac, LOL, so she wasn’t finger-raped afterall?!!!, or if she was, she dunt so much mind now!! LOL!! u know dese JAs think they’re cleverer than, and superior to the smallees in every way – they CERTAINLY ARE WHERE CRIME IS CONCERNED, we couldn’t hope to compete with them in that regard in a million years. However, where law and order is concerned we have to teach them respect and regard for the same and kick their rasses back to JA – furthermore, we don’t appreciate anybody gratuitiously bad-mouthing our country in their country’s press. BAN THEM ALL, I say!!

I agree ac, CERTAINLY BAN HER AND HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS to emphasise our lack of appreciation of being bad-mouthed, for no good reason. The mere fact of JA/Jamaicans considering they have the validity to criticise anybody, WHEN I CONSIDER THEIR RECORD is a joke! ac, I notice that we seem to be the only ones here interested in defending Bim?!!!!

;rimbo it is not a maTterof defending bim but not siding with those who wish us no good there is a point when loyalty must opose those of that ilke that is why as a bajan i am prepared to stand with my govt until proven wrong against outsuide and troublesome influences

The pseudo-intellectuals are the ones who would sit back and watch the moral fabric the glue that holds a country togeher decay.for one most of them holds no allegiance or loyal to any one but themselves that is why they are quick to defend those in oppositions and deregadation of our laws as a matter of fact this case is a glaring exanmple of how easy it is for outsiders to destroy laws which is to support and defend a country against lawlisness with the help of their own citizens

Justice, not loyalty, matters! Those who are arguing that the Bajan immigration officers who have acted under protection of the law to duct tape and rape visitors to the island then threaten them with guns if they talk about it, cannot be allowed to walk free. Is rape ever justified. Give me a break!